Twisted: Ginny's Cinderella Story
by Draco-Hermy
Summary: Three years after the Battle of Hogwarts, Ginny is living with the Parkinsons. She hasn't seen any of her friends at all during that time, since no one knows where she is. She couldn't even leave. So when Harry has a ball, she just has to go and see him. K plus to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N This is for the Ever After challenge by Romi Lawliet. I hope I did okay :) PLEASE R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Though I wish it, Harry Potter will never belong to me.**

The scrub brush made the worst sound as Ginny forced it to clean. She flicked her wand from side to side, making sure all areas of the floor were spotless. She would have silenced the brush, but she'd never been very good at that spell, so she didn't attempt it.

"Ginny!" a shrill voice called from upstairs. It was nasally and breathy, but Pansy didn't seem to care, or she would have asked Ginny to change it.

"What?" Ginny responded, giving up with the brush and sitting down on the couch, because Pansy and Millicent would just track up the floor when they came down anyway.

Pansy tried to glide down the stairs, but failed miserably when she tripped on the middle step. "You have to get to fixing that," Pansy said, and Ginny clenched her fists. She'd gotten to it yesterday, and last week, and the week before, but the other two girls were just so heavy, they broke the stair again and again.

"What did you want to ask me?" Ginny tried to control her breathing. This happened every day, and had been happening for three years, ever since her mother died in the Battle of Hogwarts. In an awful twist of events, her father's snake bite from Nagini had come back to haunt him, and he had died as well, leaving Ginny by herself. But that had been days after the Battle, so long ago. The closest relative willing to take her in had been Mrs. Parkinson, since her brothers hadn't heard the news until it was too late. Her location lost to the world, they hadn't come to rescue her. And since Millicent had nowhere to go, and was a close relative of Pansy, she'd come to stay with them, too.

Ginny was technically of age, but Mrs. Parkinson kept a close eye on her, and wouldn't let her leave the house. It wasn't really illegal, but how could she ever leave?

Pansy's mouth slid into a deep frown. She gestured to the skirt she was holding. "There's a huge stain on this thing," she said.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "How do you think it got there?"

"You sabotaged my only outfit for the ball! That's where the stain came from," Pansy said, her eyes narrowed.

"I've never touched that skirt," Ginny said. "You bought it yesterday."

"How would you know? That's a little suspicious."

"I carried the bags into the house," Ginny said, walking towards Pansy and grabbing the skirt from her. "But I'll wash this. Not like you can't do it yourself, though."

Pansy's jaw dropped. She ran back up the stairs. "Mum! Mum! Ginny's making fun of me!"

Ginny huffed, waved her wand, and cleaned the skirt. She sent it up to Pansy's room. Hopefully that Banshee wouldn't come down again until later, to leave for the ball. Oh, how Ginny wanted to go to the ball. It was in honor of Harry, and she hadn't been able to see him since the war. Not the happiest of memories.

Mrs. Parkinson came down in her own peculiar fashion, which was to levitate herself slightly off the ground so it looked like she was floating. To Ginny, it just looked like a gimmick. Which it was.

As Ginny opened her mouth to ask permission to go to the ball, Mrs. Parkinson fixed her with a horrible glare. Ginny knew she was only using Legiliimency, and looked away.

"Are you really considering going to the dance?" Mrs. Parkinson asked. She threw her head back and laughed. Ginny raised her eyebrows. Could that have been any more fake?

"Yes," she replied, throwing her shoulders back. "I think seeing Harry would be a good thing after not being around anyone for so long."

Mrs. Parkinson snorted. "Girls!" she called, turning back up the stairs. "Come down!" Immediately, the sound of disgruntled girls came from above, and Pansy and Millicent came down.

"What?" Millicent asked, tucking her wand away in her robe.

"What do you girls think? Should Ginny get to go to the ball to see her precious Harry again?" Mrs. Parkinson asked. Ginny could hardly believe her father had fallen for this frog. He'd always been opposed to people like this.

"Are you really asking us?" Pansy asked. "Or are you asking a rhetorical question?"

"You twit, she's asking us for real," Millicent said, punching Pansy in the arm. "You're such a daisy sometimes."

"Well, then, _no,_ mother. Ginny made fun of me. She shouldn't get to go," Pansy said, smiling her little oily smile at her mom.

"She made fun of me, too," Millicent said.

"What? I haven't seen you-" Ginny started to say, but Mrs. Parkinson held up her hand.

"No, dear, you can't go," she said, turning to Ginny. "We're going to be late anyway, and you don't even have a dress. The house needs to be cleaned, too."

"It doesn't. I just finished," Ginny said. Mrs. Parkinson sighed loudly and made a huge twirly motion with her wand, which Ginny knew was entirely unnecessary. With a bang and a cloud of purple smoke, the floor was coated entirely with mud.

"Oh, I'm sorry, dearie," Mrs. Parkinson said, gasping and bringing her hand to her mouth like an innocent child. "I meant to make the walls sparkly. Oh, well. Guess you're going to have to stay here after all." She turned to the other girls and waved her wand at them. At once, they were perfectly dressed and made up. "Come, girls, or we'll be late."

And so they left, Pansy making a point to squeak her new shoes on the floor, sending pieces of mud flying to the walls. Ginny could feel her face heating up. She hadn't seen Harry forever, and who knew when there would be another opportunity to meet?

She had never been good with mass cleaning spells, but Ginny attempted one. It only made one spot clean. She huffed and stomped around the house. How was a nineteen-year-old girl supposed to sit around in a terribly boring house for hours, waiting for the terribly boring inhabitants to come back from a ball that _she_ deserved to be at? It just wasn't fair.

Suddenly, a loud pop rang out in the room, and Hermione Granger appeared in an unusually poofy and pink outfit.

"Hermione!" Ginny said, and ran over to hug her friend. Hermione looked at her.

"What did Pansy do to you?" she asked.

"Not just Pansy. But they won't let me wear anything that looks better than them," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "And I can't even go the ball to see Harry."

"Oh, I know, don't worry," Hermione said. She waved her wand and the house instantly sparkled, it was so clean.

"Don't show off," Ginny said, but smiled.

"You can go to the ball, but make sure no one knows who you are," Hermione said. She waved her wand again, and Ginny's clothes changed to a long black dress, black high heels, and a black mask. "You're lucky it's a masquerade. Oh, wait, something's missing."

"How would you know anything about this?" Ginny asked. "You never liked show-offy clothes."

"Neither did you, and need I remind you who went to the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum and who didn't?" she countered.

"Got me there," Ginny said.

"Oh, it's your hair. You can't just wear it down," Hermione said.

"Quite the fashion queen, aren't you?" Ginny asked.

"Shut up," Hermione said. "You'll thank me later." She flicked her wrist, and Ginny's hair pulled itself into a bun with two strands hanging on either side of her head, framing her face.

Ginny sighed. "I guess you aren't awful. Thanks."

"You're welcome! Just remember to be back by midnight, or Mrs. Parkinson will catch you," Hermione said.

"How would you know?"

"I have eyes everywhere," she said, smirked, and disappeared.

_Well,_ Ginny thought, _it's not every day you see Hermione in a pink dress._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N I'm just going to post the whole story at once because I finished it. So here's the second chapter. Hope you like it!**

Apparating had never been Ginny's strong suit, but she wasn't too terrible, and she wanted as much time with Harry as she could get. Thankfully, when she got to the ball, she was all in one piece. No one noticed her entrance; it seemed nobody had wanted to walk to the ball. But people did notice her, and one person asked her to dance.

Ginny was a decent dancer, and so was her partner. Only when he spoke did she realize who she was dancing with.

"Have we met?" Harry asked.

"I can't say we have," Ginny replied, her heart aching to tell him the truth. It pounded against her chest, trying to get to Harry. It was all she could do not to cling to him.

"Why are you still in England?" Ginny asked. "You could be in America, helping kids over there get magical education. And you aren't an Auror."

"I'd like to be," he said. For a bit, neither of them spoke. The song changed, but it was still slow. Neither drew away. "No, that isn't true. Well, it is, but... er... I've been looking for someone."

"Who?" Ginny asked, her heart still pounding.

"I shouldn't have mentioned it... I'm dancing with you, I don't need to..."

"No, I don't mind," Ginny said. "Who are you looking for?"

Harry scratched the back of his head. "Erm, well, I haven't seen her since the day the war ended. No one has any idea what happened to her. So I'm trying to find her."

Not wanting to seem pushy, Ginny didn't ask again who he was looking for, but she didn't have to. Harry said his next words very quickly, and Ginny almost didn't hear them. "Her name is Ginny Weasley. Have you seen her?"

It was all she could do to keep from gasping. He had been looking for her? Ginny tried to keep all her emotions in check, but she couldn't help the smile that escaped to her lips.

"What? Why are you laughing? Do you know something?" He was so desperate to find her. Oh, how she wished she could tell him who she was. But the room was too large, there were too many people too close to them. One of them would hear, and Pansy or Millicent or Mrs. Parkinson would find out within seconds. No, she couldn't risk it.

"No, no, I'm sorry, I don't," Ginny said, her mood dropping to her toes. "But keep looking. I'm sure you'll find her." The two of them danced for a long time, talking about everything in the world and nothing of importance, Ginny longing to tell him about her the whole time. It was evident that Harry's mind was somewhere else for the duration of their dancing.

When Ginny looked up, she saw the clock strike 11:58. This time gasping for real, she looked frantically for the Parkinsons. They were gathering in a corner, ready to leave.

"I have to go," she said to Harry. "This has been wonderful, but I really do have to leave."

"Wait!" Harry said, attempting to grab her shoulder, but failing as she slipped away. "I don't even know your name!" Ginny stumbled for a second, but managed to Disapparate before the Parkinsons did.

She arrived at the house just as the clock struck midnight, waved her wand, and returned her clothes to normal. As she sat down to make it look like she was exhausted, Ginny noticed that one of her high heels had been missing when she got back to the house.

She didn't have time to think about it, though, because with a loud popping noise, Pansy, Millicent, and Mrs. Parkinson appeared in the room. Pansy and Millicent were talking loudly to each other, and Mrs. Parkinson was attempting to eavesdrop without making it obvious.

"I didn't even get to dance with Harry!" Pansy complained. "And Draco wasn't there!"

"Neither was Zabini," Millicent said. "And you wouldn't danced with him, but that stupid boy was with one girl the entire time!"

"She wasn't even pretty," Pansy remarked, wrinkling her nose. Indignant, Ginny turned to them but didn't say anything. She wasn't _ugly._

"She had a mask on," Mrs. Parkinson said.

"Still, I'm sure she wasn't pretty," Millicent assured Pansy, who was starting to look upset.

For the first time, Mrs. Parkinson turned to Ginny. "What were you doing the whole time?" she asked.

"Cleaning," Ginny said, gesturing to the spotless house.

"The _whole_ time?" Mrs. Parkinson raised an eyebrow. "You didn't use magic?"

"I'm not good with those spells," Ginny said, which was perfectly honest, even though the rest of her excuse wasn't.

"Let it go, mum," Pansy said. "What could she possibly have done?"

"I suppose you're right," she said. "Well, it's late, go to bed."

"It's only midnight!" Millicent whined. "We stayed up so much later when we were at Hogwarts."

"Do you think I care?" Mrs. Parkinson asked. "Because I don't. That was Hogwarts. This is my house. Go. To. Bed. Now."

"Fine," Pansy said, and the two of them grumbled all the way up the stairs to their rooms.

"You, too," Mrs. Parkinson said to Ginny. Ginny rolled her eyes and went to her room, which was the attic even though the others called it the "top room", and tried to sleep. She really did. But she couldn't get Harry out of her head. He was looking for her! He still loved her! And even if she had to wait a decade, this thought alone would surely keep her going.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N And here's the last chapter. I hope this is a good conclusion. I'm not very good at ending stories. Please let me know!**

The next morning, when Ginny came downstairs, she was surprised to find her housemates (she refused to call them family) already sitting around the kitchen table, waiting for her. Typically, they all slept in until noon and left Ginny to do all the work.

"We need to talk," Mrs. Parkinson said.

"Must be serious. She didn't even tell us anything," Pansy said. "Said we had to wait for you to come down. We've been sitting for hours!"

"It's only been two minutes," Millicent corrected.

"Whatever!" Pansy said.

"Girls!" Mrs. Parkinson said. She turned to Ginny. "There was an announcement this morning that you all need to know about. Harry found the shoe of the girl he was dancing with last night, and he's going to come to every house in town to find out whose it is. Said she had answers or something. And she's going to live with him in the castle until everything gets sorted out. So, Millicent, Pansy, you're going to get dressed up for him to test your feet. I'm sure you can squeeze into the shoe if you really want to. Ginny, you're going to... well, I'll tell you when he comes. Now, come on, he'll be here any minute!"

Ginny's stomach rolled over in excitement. Harry was coming to the house? He'd finally see who she was, and they'd be able to stay together, finally. But what did Mrs. Parkinson have planned for her? It couldn't have been anything good.

And it wasn't. Half an hour later, Harry knocked on the door, and Pansy answered it.

"Hey, Harry!" she said, her cheer so false it was almost tangible. "Haven't seen you since Hogwarts!"

"Er, hi, Pansy. This is your house?" Harry asked, utterly unenthusiastic. Ginny couldn't hear the rest of the conversation, however, because Mrs. Parkinson began to speak.

"I know it was you last night," she said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ginny said, lying as smoothly as she ever did, which was pretty smooth. She learned from the best.

"Shut up, you know exactly what I'm talking about. And Harry Potter _cannot_ know you're here. He'll just take you away and never give my girls another look. So you're going to have to stay in here until he leaves, 'kay, sweetheart?" she asked. Ginny opened her mouth, about to express her outrage, but Mrs. Parkinson cast a silencing charm on her, grabbed her wand, left the room, locked the door, and proceeded to talk with Harry.

Luckily, there was a small glass window just above Ginny's eye level that led into a view of the living room. She dragged a chair from the table to the door and climbed on it. She couldn't hear anything, but she could see it all. And though she couldn't make a sound, Ginny could still bang on the window, which she did.

It appeared that Harry was not at all happy to be in the same room with Millicent, Pansy, and her mother. Obviously, he was hoping really hard that it wasn't one of them he had been dancing with the night before. Ginny kept pounding on the window, getting more and more desperate. Harry only had to see if Pansy or Millicent fit the shoe, and then he would be gone. And the process would go even faster than normal, because he loathed the two girls so much.

"Harry!" Ginny tried to scream. Nothing happened. _Maybe I should try knocking on the wood,_ she thought. It was worth a try. She pounded on the wooden part of the door. She saw Mrs. Parkinson try to speak louder than normal to drown out the sounds Ginny was making, but Harry perked up.

She saw him ask what that noise was, and it appeared that Mrs. Parkinson was trying to stop him from exploring, but exploring was what got Harry to defeat Voldemort in the first place, so some evil, middle-aged, pureblood woman wasn't going to get in his way of investigating. Ginny made sure she didn't stop knocking on the door. Harry was so close to the door, Ginny couldn't see him anymore. She continued to pound on the door, but realized that she needed to get the chair away so that it could open.

So she did, and finally, finally, Harry knocked back. Ginny rushed to the door and knocked again. Since Harry was so close, she could hear his voice through the door, muffled, but definitely there.

"Why is this door locked?" he asked.

Ginny could barely hear Mrs. Parkinson's answer: "You don't want to go in there-"

"Why is it locked?" he demanded. "Is there someone behind it?" Some seconds passed, and then, "Alohamora!" Harry said. Ginny heard the lock click and she immediately opened the door.

She grinned as she saw Harry and hugged him at once.

"Ginny!" he said, and the happiness was so evident in his voice that Ginny had to see him smiling.

She tried to speak, but found that she still couldn't.

"What's wrong with her? What did you do to her?" Harry turned to Mrs. Parkinson and trained his wand on her.

She put her hands up as if she was surrendering. " Just a simple silencing charm. Nothing the Chosen One can't fix." Harry reversed the spell at once.

"Harry!" Ginny said. "She locked me up and you couldn't hear me and then you were leaving and I couldn't help it, Harry, I had to let you know I was alive and-"

"Calm down!" Harry said. He hugged her again. "Calm down," he repeated. "I've been looking for you for years! Why didn't you just leave? You're nineteen years old. It's legal to leave."

"I couldn't." When he looked puzzled, Ginny said, "I'll explain later. Can we please just leave?"

"You're right." He turned to Mrs. Parkinson. "I don't know what you did that made Ginny feel like she had to stay here, but I swear, if you force her to stay, you'll be facing the entire Ministry of-"

"Harry," GInny interrupted. "I can take care of it." She walked up to Mrs. Parkinson and grabbed her wand. The woman didn't even try to keep it away. "If you _ever_ come near me again, you will regret it."

Harry took her hand and led her away from the Parkinson household. "It's been so long," he said.

"It really has," Ginny replied. And then they kissed.


End file.
